Chocolate hazelnut tartlets with sea salt

I remember the first time I tried chocolate with sea salt. It sounded weird to me at first, but as soon as I took the first bite, I was delighted. It instantly became a favorite. Nowadays, I rarely make anything chocolatey without a good extra pinch of salt. And the same goes for caramel, which is so intensely sweet on its own. Salt adds depth, and maximizes the flavor to bring out all the good stuff. This notion is something I keep coming back to when I think about food, and life in general. How differences should be celebrated, how they enhance each other. Opposites attract. Our differences are what makes us interesting, and food, in flavor and texture. Sweet and salty. Smooth and crunchy. These tartlets have it all. A crisp, nutty shortbread crust, a crunchy hazelnut filling topped with a rich, smooth chocolate ganache and flaky salt on top. Just the right balance between flavors and textures.

CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT TARTLETS WITH SEA SALT

Makes 10 small tartlets

I used my Electrolux* blender to mix the toasted hazelnuts into a fine meal but you could also use a food processor if you don’t have a blender. If you don’t have tartlet pans with removable bottoms, you can cut long strips of baking paper and put along the bottom of the pans before you press in the dough. This will make it so much easier to remove them from them from the pans once baked! Crust with nut filling can be made a day ahead.

INGREDIENTS

100 g (25 g for crust + 75 g for filling) hazelnuts

CRUST

25 g toasted hazelnuts

180 g (1 1/4 cup) all purpose flour

1 tbsp. light muscovado sugar

pinch of flake sea salt

150 g (about 1 1/4 stick) salted butter

FILLING

45 g (1/4 cup) light brown muscovado sugar

100 g (1 scant stick) salted butter

2 tbsp. liquid honey

2 tbsp. heavy cream

75 g toasted hazelnuts, coarsely chopped

GANACHE

200 g semi-sweet chocolate (around 55%), chopped

240 ml (1 cup) heavy cream

Flaky sea salt, to sprinkle

INSTRUCTIONS

CRUST

Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F).

Spread 100 g hazelnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast until fragrant and lightly browned, about 8-12 minutes. Let cool. Put the toasted nuts in a clean kitchen towel and rub to remove as much of the skins as possible.

Put the nuts in a blender along with the flour, sugar and salt. Mix until nuts are finely ground. Pour mixture into a bowl. Melt the butter and stir into the dry mixture until just incorporated and a dough forms.

Using your hands, press the dough into the tartlet pans (I used about 35 g of dough for each pan, my pans are approx. 10 cm across), smoothing the edges with your fingertips. Prick the bottoms of the dough and transfer the pans to a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. Let cool while you prepare the filling.

FILLING

Mix sugar, butter, honey and cream in a saucepan. Stir together and let come to a boil. Let simmer for a minute, then stir in the 75 g of chopped hazelnuts. Divide the mixture between the tartlet shells.

Bake on the lower rack of the oven at 175°C (350°F) for 18-20 minutes or until filling is golden brown and bubbling. Let cool completely.

GANACHE

Place the chopped chocolate in a bowl.

Pour the cream into a saucepan and place it over medium high heat until cream is very hot but not boiling. Pour the cream over the chocolate – make sure all the chocolate is covered with cream, if not, press chocolate down with a spoon. Let stand for 30 seconds, then stir with a spoon until chocolate is melted and ganache is completely smooth. Make sure to stir carefully, or you’ll get lots of air bubbles in your ganache. Let cool to room temperature.

Pour the ganache into the tartlet shells. Let stand until set, about 1-2 hours in room temperature (refrigerator will be a bit faster). If you want a shiny surface on the chocolate, use a torch to very carefully toast the chocolate. Sprinkle with sea salt flakes.

Thanks for your sweet comment, Jane! If stored for more than a few hours, yeah I’d put them in the fridge and top with salt just before serving. They’re good to eat both cold or room temp, depending what you like 🙂 They’ll be softer att room temp though. Hope that helps! x linda

They look so lush! And I love the combo of chocolate and sea salt, it’s almost like these two meant to be together!
Absolutely in love with your photography Linda, you are super talented, and very inspiring!

This post is a work of art. You’re so right about the salt in caramel and chocolate. Adding a little makes them so much more interesting! Can’t wait to give your beautiful tartlets a try, we’re drooling over the keyboard:):)
Greetings from sunny Athens, Greece!
Mirella and Panos

Followed a few of your recipes and they look delicious and the photography is amazing. I would love a few sub ideas for us unsophisticated chefs that are working with everyday ingredients and budget ha – muscovado sugar I’d never heard of til I had to look it up from your recipe- maybe you could do some cheapy tips to the side/bottom?